Forexpros – The U.S. dollar held on to gains against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, after both countries released a flurry of data, while markets awaited speeches from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and President Barack Obama.

USD/CAD hit 0.9864 during U.S. morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9853, gaining 0.22%.

The pair is likely to find short-term support at 0.9752, the low of September 2 and resistance at 0.9964, the high of September 6.

The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending September 2 rose by 2,000 to 414,000, confounding expectations for a decline to 405,000.

The previous week’s figure was revised up to 412,000 from 409,000.

A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to a three-month low of USD44.8 billion in July, compared to a revised deficit of USD51.6 billion in June. Analysts had expected the U.S. trade deficit to narrow to USD51.0 billion in July.

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada said earlier that the nation’s trade deficit narrowed to CAD0.8 billion in July from a revised deficit of CAD1.4 billion in June. Analysts had expected Canada’s trade deficit to narrow to USD1.1 billion in July.

Separately, the number of new building permits issued in Canada in July jumped by 6.3% in July, confounding expectations for a flat reading. June’s figure was revised up to 2.8% from a previously reported 2.1% gain.

The loonie was also weighed as crude oil futures for delivery in October fell 0.45% to trade at USD89.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Raw materials, including oil account for about half of Canada’s export revenue.

Elsewhere, the Canadian dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD slumping 0.6% to hit 1.3777.

The single currency came under pressure after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said threats to the region’s economy have “intensified” and inflation risks have eased as the region’s debt crisis deepens.

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